MIAMI (Ticker) -- Superstars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant of
the Los Angeles Lakers waited until the second half to show the
Miami Heat why they are perhaps the best 1-2 combination in the
NBA.

O'Neal and Bryant combined for 51 points and fueled a
second-half surge as the Lakers continued to roll by ending the
Heat's franchise-record home winning streak at 13 games with a
100-89 victory.

Playing for the fourth time in the last five days and coming off
Sunday's win at New York, the Lakers struggled the entire first
half and fell behind, 55-42.

But the duo of O'Neal and Bryant awoke early in the second half.
O'Neal scored eight points and Bryant seven in a 22-4 burst to
start the third quarter that put the Lakers in front.

The NBA's leading scorer, O'Neal battled foul trouble to collect
28 points and 12 rebounds. Bryant scored 15 of his 23 points in
the second half. The duo made 23-of-47 shots from the field.

"I think it was a tired bunch in the first half," O'Neal said.
"Then our great coaching challenged us and we stepped up to the
challenge. We came out and played great."

"I think he's (coach Phil Jackson) proud of us and we're proud
of ourselves," Bryant said. "Usually on back-to-back games in
the past we would let down in games like this, especially being
down at halftime. I think it builds character. We've played two
tough games against quality ballclubs and were able to win."

Glen Rice also scored 28 points for the Lakers, who have won
three straight since having their NBA season-high 19-game
winning streak stopped at Washington on Thursday. Los Angeles
completed a 4-1 road trip and has won 12 of its last 13 away
from home.

"Our team tonight showed a lot of character. We were down
against a very good basketball team and we were able to pull it
out," Rice said. "Coming out in the second half we wanted to
take it up defensively. Once we got that in control, the offense
fell into place."

Battling O'Neal in the middle, Miami center Alonzo Mourning had
33 points and 13 rebounds. He scored 19 points before halftime
but struggled in the second half, shooting just 5-of-14 while
having four shots blocked by the 7-1 O'Neal.

"He is very tough. This is not a boxing match or tennis match.
We're not fencing out there," Mourning said. "This is 5-on-5.
This is not about the individual, it's about the team. I don't
look at it as a 1-on-1 battle."

"Mourning is one of the big guys that could hit from inside or
outside," O'Neal said. "In the first half I was letting him
shoot the jumper to see if he would miss. Once he started
hitting them, I had to guard him. In the second half, it was a
clean slate. I just had to pick my defense up."

Jackson said O'Neal's defense in the third quarter changed the
flow of the game.

"Shaquille came out and played a great defensive quarter against
Alonzo and just turned the momentum of the game around," Jackson
said. "We just controlled the momentum of the game. For the
fourth game in five nights, it was a terrific effort.

Miami lost at American Airlines Arena for the first time since a
92-85 defeat to Chicago on January 18.

The Heat had a five-game overall winning streak stopped and
their lead in the Atlantic Division cut to 1 1/2 games over the
New York Knicks.

"You don't have to credit, you just have to say they are good,"
Miami coach Pat Riley said. "They rolled us in the third
quarter. We got away from what we wanted to do. We took the
ball to basket in the third quarter but did not get any points
from it. We never gathered ourselves. We took the hit but did
not respond."

Following their sluggish first half, the Lakers looked like a
different team in the third quarter and took the lead, 61-59,
with six minutes left in period on a short jumper by O'Neal.

With Hall of Fame center Bill Russell among the faces in the
crowd, O'Neal matched his first-half output by scoring 12 points
in the third quarter on 6-of-7 shooting.

Not to be outdone, Bryant hit a 16-footer with 3:02 left in
period that gave the Lakers the lead for good, 69-68. O'Neal
followed with consecutive baskets as the Lakers took a 75-69
advantage into the final period.

The Lakers led by as many as 10 points early in the fourth
quarter but Miami closed to 84-81 with 4:44 remaining on two
free throws by Mourning. However, Robert Horry and Rice buried
consecutive 3-pointers to help the Lakers restore control.

Horry was the only player off the Lakers bench to get into the
scoring column as he tallied 12 points. Lakers key reserve Rick
Fox was ejected early in the fourth quarter after picking up a
pair of technical fouls.

Miami received 18 points from its bench, led by 12 from Clarence
Weatherspoon. He hit two free throws with 2:18 left to bring the
Heat within 93-89. But Bryant hit a turnaround jumper, O'Neal
made 1-of-2 free throws and Rice sank four foul shots in the
final 1:40 to seal the win.

Los Angeles shot 51 percent (38-of-75) and held a 37-32 edge on
the glass.

Mourning got the best of O'Neal in the first half, especially in
the second quarter. He netted 13 points in the period as the
Heat outscored Los Angeles, 32-21.